


Photographs

by Amuly



Category: EastEnders
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-08
Updated: 2011-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-03 23:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/387157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amuly/pseuds/Amuly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Syed discovers a photo stashed in Christian's flat. This inspires an impromptu purchase for him and Christian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photographs

Syed hadn't meant to be snooping through Christian's things. He was just rifling through Christian's books, checking to see if there was anything he might be interested in reading. They were mostly exercise or nutrition books – no surprise there – with a few apparent literary favorites: a couple Dickens, Shakespeare, and Steven King. Syed grinned down at Christian's copy of _Romeo and Juliet_. He should have figured: the big sap. 

Flipping through the well-thumbed volume, Syed stopped as a piece of paper tumbled out. Frowning, he bent down to pick up the paper, unfolding it curiously. 

He stopped, breath catching in his throat. It was the 'Bad Boy' picture: the one of him and Christian getting a touch too cozy in the alley by his house. The sheet had been carefully taped together from the back, and the offending newspaper block letters cut off from the bottom. The picture had a crease of white across the center, where it had apparently been folded and re-folded multiple times. 

“Hey, babe! I could murder a bath. Join me?”

Syed glanced over his shoulder at Christian, who was entering the flat with his gym bag thrown over his shoulder. Christian's eyes landed on Syed, frowning as he moved closer. 

Syed stood up, handing the photo over to Christian. “Found this.” Frowning, Syed watched as a sad smile spread across Christian's face. “I can't believe you kept it.”

“It was the only photo of the two of us together.” Concern blossomed on Christian's face as he took a step closer. “I kept it hidden. I'd never...”

Syed shook his head. “No, no. I know.” He smiled up at Christian, shrugging a shoulder. “It's... sweet. A bit daft, and I would have gone mad if someone had found it – or if  _I_ had, back then. But now it's just... sweet.”

Christian's grin warmed Syed, and he stepped closer, tilting his head up. Christian complied with the unspoken request, bringing their lips together in a slow, tender kiss. 

When they separated, Syed plucked the photo back from Christian's fingers. His thumb swiped over the crease mark in the photo as he looked at it. The photo was terrible quality – as Christian had commented on over a year ago. Their faces were hard to make out, grainy at best, but their body language said everything that needed to be said. 

Syed tugged at Christian's sleeve again, pulling him into another kiss. Seeing that photo just reminded him of all the times they had to lie and hide – all the times he couldn't kiss Christian whenever he wanted to. He melted into Christian, pressing a hand to his broad chest as they kissed. An arm wrapped around his back, tugging him closer until their bodies were flush, touching in all the right places.

Pulling back with a gasp, Syed laughed at the happily stunned expression on Christian's face. “All that because of a photo?”

Blushing, Syed looked down as he shrugged. “All that because you  _kept_ a photo.”

Christian made a low noise in his throat: it could have been a sigh or a whimper, Syed couldn't tell which. “Come to the bath with me.”

Setting the photo carefully on the bookshelf, Syed allowed himself to be dragged to the bathroom, shedding clothes as they went. 

**

The door shut quietly behind Syed as he snuck back into the flat, bag clutched tightly in his hand. Christian was still asleep in their bed, stretched out like some sort of Adonis, blanket draped just barely over his hips, chest bare for all the world to see. And all of that was Syed's, only his, to look at. Syed felt his heart clench at the thought. 

As silently as he could, Syed tiptoed over to their bed, pulling out the newly-purchased prize from the bag. It was a digital camera: nothing fancy, since Syed still felt bad for not quite making his own living yet. But good enough to get the job done. 

The camera was already out of the box, batteries loaded in and settings all taken care of. Syed had sat outside the shop for twenty minutes, just making sure he had everything right. He had wanted his surprise to be perfect, in every respect. 

Stepping over a discarded belt, Syed reached their bedside. Christian was still sleeping soundly, face tilted slightly to the side on the pillow. Biting his lip, Syed brought the camera up in front of him, fiddling with the buttons for a moment. He might not be a technological genius, like his little brother, but he could still generally make something as simple as a digital camera work properly. Most of the time.

A flash lit up the room as Syed depressed the button on the camera, causing Christian to stir and blink blearily. Syed only had a moment to check and make sure the photo came out – it did, and Christian looked sinfully gorgeous – before he climbed back into bed, pressing the present into the still-waking Christian's hands.

“Is it storming out? What's this?” 

Syed grinned at Christian's confusion as he snuggled up next to him, laying his head down onto Christian's chest. “Think of it as a late Christmas present.” He considered a moment more. “Or a really, really early birthday present.”

Slowly growing more alert, Christian snorted. “What... a camera?” Syed watched as he rolled the device over in his hands, spotting the picture of himself as he thumbed through the device's memory. “Really need to focus on my core some more. Cut down on the beer.”

Syed laughed, nuzzling his chin against Christian's stomach. “You're  _fine_ . Honestly, complaining about  _your_ figure-” There was another flash, and Syed blinked in the sudden light. “Hey-”

Christian turned the camera around, offering it to Syed to peer at the back. He had managed to take a decent shot of the two of them, snuggled together on their bed. Syed felt something in his stomach flutter at the sight. They looked so stupidly, ridiculously,  _happy_ . He squeezed at Christian's side, burrowing his face farther into his chest. “Thought it was time we had a few photos of us together. Now that we can,” Syed explained.

A kiss was pressed to Syed's head, and he raised it to peer up at Christian. The other man was smiling softly down at him, no lack of love in his eyes. “I'm taking it with me every time we go out, and having everyone in the Square take pictures of us, until we can fill the flat with them.” A wicked smirk crossed Christian's face, and he leaned down slightly, squeezing at Syed. “And maybe we can take some photos ourselves. Ones meant just for us.”

“ _Christian_ ,” Syed groaned in embarrassment. Christian's laugh filled the flat as he pulled Syed into tight embrace. Fact of the matter was, Syed probably would end up agreeing to a private photo session with Christian. Syed felt himself blushing at the thought. They'd just have to make sure they found a better hiding spot for _those_.


End file.
